Downtownguy has really had me thinking a lot lately. Although I love Oklahoma City, it's nothing compared to what it could've been. The older generations have really screwed up things over the years. Our river is probably the best example. Sure, the new dams are nice on the Oklahoma River, but it still looks like a drainage ditch and probably will for many years to come......at least until the foliage starts growing and development continues.

For just a little while, I wish I could go back to the early 1900's thru 1960's and see what this city was really like. See the "old" N. Canadian river with forests, picnic areas, fishing, etc. See the beautiful Delmar Gardens....we really have nothing to compare to it today. The gorgiously draped tables out in the middle of trees. See the fabulous architecture of the old state fair grounds. Unfortunately, now NE 10th and Eastern is wasteland, and the new fair is comprised mostly of run-of-the-mill steel structures....nothing special. From the highway, our fair grounds look like an eyesore. Oh well.....guess it fits in with our "hick" heritage. That's unfortunate.

It would've been nice to see the old Belle Isle area with the lake, parks, and amusement park. As a child I remember seeing Belle Isle Lake, but those were in the final days. I never knew the parks or amusement park.

And, since I'm too young, I sure wish I could've seen Wedgwood Village, Springlake Park, and Putnam Park.

And who can forget the images of department stores, shops, and first class theaters (like the Criterion) downtown. And all of the historic downtown hotels. Nothing can replace the architecture lost when some of those buildings came down.

As downtownguy has been showing a lot of historic images from our city's past, it's had me wishing that I could go back and see how everything used to be. For example, being able to take a look at the old Baum Building...what beautiful architecture it had, only to be torn down and replaced with the ordinary looking Century Center. What about the old Skirvin Tower Building across from the Skirvin Hotel??? And the Biltmore Hotel?? Seems like the Myriad Gardens could've been built around the Biltmore.

I think what makes us so different from cities on the coasts, is that we have a throw away demeanor! We don't take care of or preserve anything. We just let everything go to he**, and when it needs replacing we just tear it down and start again.

The Belle Isle Power plant was the latest example of this "throw away attitude." Sure, it was just an old building, but it had a lot of historic architecture, and most of all it had a lot of history. The area was named the Belle Isle Station Shopping Center. Why couldn't they have preserved the "Belle Isle Station" and used it as the centerpiece for the development????? That's what I don't understand. It would've made a nice upscale restaurant, or multi-level store. I always imagined a waterfall in the middle with dining around it.
Instead, in an area with so much history, we built a strip center with a Wal-Mart. Argh!!!!!!!!!! Why????

Better yet, why not just build the dam back and rebuild Belle Isle Lake??? Supposedly the reason it was drained was because developers wanted to build houses on the property. Why couldn't the lake have been left and the housesbuilt around the lake????

Someone on here asked awhile back what it's going to ake to get people back that have left our city. Well, I hate to be blunt, but we're going to have to get out of our hickish ways, and start respecting our history a little. Instead of trashing things out and destroying our history we need to preserve it. Instead of tearing up our beautiful natural wonders we need to preserve them.

Sure, the Oklahoma River is a step in the right direction, but we need to do more of that. We need to fix what we tore up in the late 60's.

We really ruined Lake Hefner when we put the Parkway through.....we need to fix it by planting MORE TREES!!!!!

Well, I guess I've been on my soap box enough. This post is going to kick off a new series I'm going to start, highlighting the history of our city. Hope you have fun with it.

Sheesh, depress me why don't you!?

;)

I know what you mean though. I see old post cards of OKC and see all the cool historic buildings that were torn down. It literally gives me a sick feeling in my stomach to think that they destroyed those buildings for "progress". Makes no sense.

Makes me think of the Form vs Function debate. Seems like the old OKC leaders were pure functionists. "Who cares what it looked like or what it will look like, let's just get a parking garage in there!" Gah. And as nice looking as the Myriad Gardens are, I'll take the old buildings over the gardens any day.

Thankfully, the leaders of today have a healthy balance of form AND function. In fact, they're putting form higher up on the list more and more, which is great. This means we'll have nice looking, "cool" parks, buildings and districts as well as functional

But it also makes me wonder... are the people who visit this board like most people in OKC? Does everyone care as much about downtown as we do? Preservation of history? Aesthetics of architecture? A general excitement about OKC? Probably not. But, as we get out and "evangelize" more and more people will realize that we, today, are setting in place the foundation for tomorrow's OKC. One that I envision to become a truly worldwide destination. Yeah, we are in our infancy as a city and state even as a nation, if you really want to look at it. However, OKC can make a mark and a name for itself. It can be a destination. Sure, our preservation of history is somewhat depressing. However, we can start from here on creating something new that will be looked back on as something revolutionary.

OK, I'll get off MY soapbox.

:)

Luke, you are so right in everything you say. I wish I could add more, but it seems like you covered all of the bases. I definitely agree that it's good that FINALLY we have some city leaders in there that have a balance of form and function. That's what we've needed for so many years. Unfortunately, we've destroyed a lot of our history in the leadership shifts over the years, but hopefully we can capitalize on the history we have left. I'm just thankful that the Skirvin will be saved. When that project is completed finally, I'll know our city leaders are on the right track!!!

You also make me see the other side of the coin. Sure, we lost a lot of nice historic buildings in the Urban Renewal masacure of the 60's, 70's, and 80's, but we also got rid of some not-so-pretty buildings as well. Several of the buildings that were torn down as a result of the Urban Renewal projects made way for more impressive buildings. The larger buildings we have now are a plus, but I still regret the loss of some of the more historic buildings, for newer buildings that aren't any larger than the buildings they replaced, but are less architecturally appealing. I wish Urban Renewal would've taken architecture into account when they tore down buildings. But unfortanately that's all behind us now.
We have to move forward I suppose.

Well, sorry for the "downer" post, but we have squandered alot of potential over the years. The river is by ar the best example. I just hope I'll be able to see the river return to its glory days in my lifetime.

I'm not going to give history lessons anymore if this is the result of it.
:)
OK, we've lost quite a bit. So cherish what we still have. Patronize the Gold Dome when it reopens. Spend a night at the renovated Skirvin. Spend a buck with whoever is renting the Milk Bottle building this month. Go to the Deep Deuce Grill, 307 NE 2, and enjoy not just an incredible meal, but also an impressive historic renovation by its owner, Craig Brown (extra points if you can spot the original door to Dr. Haywood's office).

We still have some history left... yeah, the last generation screwed things up. But now it's our turn, and it's up to us to save what's left.

- The Downtown Guy
www.downtownguy.blogspot.com

It reminds me of the saying "You don't know what you've lost until it's already gone". I really love those old art-deco buildings. The stonemasonry and detail is art.

My favorite preserved building is the courthouse downtown. Inside, it's absolutely beautiful. You can really get a sense of the building's history. It's what a courthouse SHOULD look like as opposed to these new courthouses being built in some areas made of yellow brick.

We still have a few of these historical treasures downtown that are in danger. On Hudson, we have an old hotel that is boarded up (I forget the name). It was last used in the 60's as a draft office. It was built in the early 20th century and was once a fine hotel. Now it's just sitting there. Probably waiting to be demolished to make room for a Walgreens.

Sometimes our old buildings do have to make way for new projects. If a corporation wants to move downtown and decides they want to build a 30+ story building, I'd let them tear down anything they wanted to.

I remember Wedgewood and Springlake both. As kids, I went to both often.

Also the Twilight Drive In theater and the big swimming pool on Shields. The name escapes me, however.

Also as a kid, I remember going down Commerece in Capitol Hill. You has Otasco, the Knob Hill theater, my dad's office was next to it, then as you went east you had Jack and Jill childrens clothing, David's mens wear, Oklahoma National Bank, TG&Y, Capitol Hill Honda, Veazy's drugs, Levines, Langstons, John A Brown, Emmer's, Zales, JC Penney, Kress, and a few smaller places.

I drove near there a day or two ago and noticed even my dad's office building was gone. He actually owned three of them. One on Harvey is now a dump. The other is now some liberal bum organization.

I have a lot of memories of that area. It use to be THE shopping place in south Oklahoma City until Crossroads opened. That is what caused the down fall.

My dad's first office, located on Hudson, is a small two room place. We bought it a few years ago just for sentimental value.

Yes. The "old" Oklahoma City had some charm and some real memories. The younger crowd, like Patrick were not around during the glory days.

You guys really missed some great things. I only wish we could equal them. However, I do not think I will live long enough to see a REAL renaissance and bring these areas back.

Some people want to revitalize Commerce, but I think it is only a dream and will not happen while I am alive (within the next 50 years).

However, unless that changes, we still have our memories. They will have to do... For now.

OK, since we're all talking about the "old" Oklahoma City, and we've also talked about trying to lure a restaurant or attraction to our downtown, why not target development of one of our most sacred and endangered landmarks?
And what is that, you ask?
I'll provide the details, this weekend, on www.downtownguy.blogspot.com
- The Downtown Guy

I think it's so interesting how everyone is trying to make Oklahoma City what is "used to be like." Seems like that's happening all over the United States. Anyways, now we'd kill to have a rail system like the old Interurban. We're trying to get more hotels to locate downtown....hotels used to dominate downtown. We're trying to revive downtown with stores, theatres, etc........hmmmm, wasn't this how downtown used to be??
Our city wants to start focusing more on beautification.....hmmm....wasn't our city sure a beauty back in the day. We're focusing on the livelihood of our river once again....hmmm, wasn't the river the center of attention before the Corps destroyed it??
In today's society, malls have become a thing of the past.....more malls are closing and very few new malls are on the drawing board.
Seems like most people are craving convenient "drive up to the door" type shopping, found in town squares. Hmmmm......didn't Penn Square used to be an outdoor shopping center like Utica Square? It's funny how that center has changed with the time. When malls became big back in the 70's, Penn Square enclosed and became a one level mall.
Hmmm......with the tide now changing, I wonder if mall management wishes it could turn back the hands of time and go back the the outdoor shopping "square." Afterall, Penn Square used to be a for real "Square" like those so many people are proposing today.

Seems like our society is one of convenience and entertainment, which explains all of the changes. Simply put, parking at a mall and walking to your store is a lot more of a hassle than parking in front of a store in a shopping village and walking right in. This is exactly why Spring Creek Plaza in Edmond is doing so well.

You know, it's no wonder kids get in so much trouble now. Back in the day, there were actually things for kids to do. Like three large amusement parks in town that didn't charge a huge entrance fee....rather, they were free and you payed only for the rides you wanted to ride. There were more swimming pools around town...in fact didn't Wedgewood have a pretty large one??? There were drive in theaters and movie houses everywhere.


Personally, I'm glad to see that we're starting to go back to how things used to be.
I just hope Oklahoma City can drop it's "hick" attitude one of these days. Driving by Wal-Mart today, I saw 10 guys standing outside the store.....all had on tight Levis, huge belt buckles, cowboy boots, and cowboy hats. I just shook my head.

Yeah, it's sad that Oklahoma City killed most of the assets and activity that made it such an exciting and enjoyable city. But that's way most all American cities have gone. Times Square used to be such a hellhole. Cleveland is still trying to overcome its image of the "Mistake by the Lake". Downtowns will never be what they used to be, at least in my lifetime. It took decades to ruin downtown and it'll take decades to bring it back up.

But these images we've seen courtesy of downtownguy were actually inspiring -- that OKC has had a history of terrific architecture, flamboyance, and places of play. I still relish that image of the oil financier drinking champagne from a boot!! Or of a giant Marilyn Monroe likeness in front of a street theater!! Hopefully, instead of going back into a cycle of inner city outmigration, we've all learned our lesson to keep our downtowns alive.

We've said this before, but that's why the tourism industry is so important. It's the only industry that can alter an image visually. We need to promote, promote, and promote to show the good things happening. Host events that can get people who would've never been in the city and change their minds. Some will always look down on us (read: Texans); but the open-minded will leave surprised.